Stetson University College of Law

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December 12, 2002:  Gulfport, Fla. - Stetson University College of Law purchased 7.3 acres from the City of Tampa on Tuesday to build the Stetson Law Center and Campus in downtown Tampa. Construction is expected to take 10-12 months and will commence once the building permits are issued.

"We are very excited about the purchase of this property in downtown Tampa. The Law Center and Campus will be a major hub of legal activity for Tampa Bay," said Dean Gary Vause.

"Stetson's Law Center and Campus is a long awaited dream that will soon become a reality and complete Tampa's goal as a center for academic excellence," said Tampa Mayor Dick Greco.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony for the three-story, 73,500-square-foot main building is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. at the 1700 N. Tampa Street site just off Interstate 275. The building will reflect the same Spanish-Mediterranean architecture of Stetson's Gulfport campus, including a tower that will overlook downtown Tampa.

Agreements have been negotiated for the Florida Second District Court of Appeal and the Hillsborough County Bar Association to reside on the campus. Stetson will offer classes for part-time students at the Tampa location, as well as continuing legal education workshops for practicing attorneys and business professionals.

The first floor will house classrooms, a state-of-the-art courtroom and a full law library; the second, proposed chambers and offices for judges and court employees, and the third floor will be reserved for future law school use.

Stetson purchased the property from the City of Tampa for $1.2 million and spent another $427,000 to demolish the former Tampa police station on the site. The estimated building cost is $9.23 million. The general contractor is Angle & Schmid and the architectural firm is FleischmanGarcia.

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Stetson University College of Law is Florida's first law school. It has educated lawyers for more than 100 years, and offers continuing legal education programs for regional, state, national and international audiences. Stetson University College of Law tied for first place in Trial Advocacy in the 2003 U.S. News & World Report rankings of law schools. It is also the future headquarters for the National Conference of Law Reviews.